Outdoor-Lighting Ordinance of Cloudcroft, NM

AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 7, ARTICLE 7 TO THE CLOUDCROFT CODE REGULATING THE INSTALLATION OF OUTDOOR LIGHTING Below is the outdoor-lighting ordinance for the town of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, which was formally approved and adopted at the June 1995 meeting of the Cloudcroft Village Council. The Ordinance (No. 267) had been pre-published three times in the Newpaper before final adoption. Only one minor objection was registered from a citizen, who, however, did not attend the final adoption meeting. Supplied courtesy of Warren Offutt, who wrote it:

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE VILLAGE OF CLOUDCROFT, that a new Chapter 7, Article 7 to the Cloudcroft Code is adopted to read as follows:

7-7-1 Purpose and Applicability.

(a) The purpose of this ordinance is to improve nighttime public safety, utility and security by restricting the night-time emission of light rays which are the source of light trespass and/or unnecessary glare, and/or are detrimental to the safety and/or security of persons, property or vehicular traffic, and/or are detrimental to the traditional aesthetic values of the Village, and/or unnecessarily restrict persons from the peaceful enjoyment of their property, and/or are detrimental to astronomical observations. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all outdoor lighting devices for illumination or advertisement and installed after the effective date of this ordinance, except as hereinafter otherwise specified.

(b) The provisions of this chapter, except for Section 7-7-5 (a) and Section 7-7-5 (c), do not apply to glass tubes filled with neon, argon or krypton, or to outdoor advertising signs constructed of translucent material and illuminated wholly from within.

However, after January 1, 1998, newly installed or replaced outdoor advertising signs constructed of translucent material and illuminated wholly from within shall be of the type having dark background with bright/colored characters. Such signs having bright background with dark or colored characters shall not be installed after January 1, 1998.

7-7-2 Effect on Other Codes.

The provisions of this ordinance are intended to supplement other applicable codes and requirements. Compliance with all applicable provisions of building, electrical and other codes must be observed. In the event of a conflict between the requirements of this code and other requirements, the more stringent requirement shall apply.

7-7-3 Shielding.

General Requirements. Except as otherwise provided below or in Section 7-7-1 (b) above, all outdoor lighting devices or fixtures shall be shielded in such a manner that light rays emitted by the device or fixture, whether directly from the lamp or indirectly from the fixture, are restricted to regions below an angle 15 degrees beneath the horizontal plane running through the lowest point on the fixture where light is emitted. No significant intensity of light shall be emitted from the fixture horizontally, nor above the horizon, nor above the region defined above.

In general, all outdoor lighting shall be downward directed except where specified otherwise in this Chapter.

(Note: Luminaires meeting restricted emission requirements are sometimes described commercially as hooded, shielded, or full cut- off fixtures, however, not all luminaires so designated meet the above angular requirement.)

7-7-4 Light Pollution; General Requirements.

(a) One hundred twenty (120) days following the effective date of this ordinance, only shielded outdoor light fixtures which conform to the requirement of Section 7-7-3 may be installed.

(b) After the effective date of this ordinance, only shielded, low pressure sodium outdoor lighting fixtures may be newly installed to provide illumination for public streets.

However, in the event that the Otero County regulations permit high pressure sodium lamps for general street and highway lighting, or for other good and sufficient reasons, high pressure sodium lamps may be used instead of the low pressure sodium lamps as specified in this paragraph (b) upon written approval of the Village Council.

In the case of the replacement (see Section 7-7-6) of light fixtures installed to provide illumination for public streets, if existing circuitry does not permit replacement of an individual light fixture with a low-pressure sodium light fixture, high pressure sodium may be used instead.

Regardless of lamp or fixture type, the shielding requirements of Section 7-7-3 are applicable. Additional shielding to eliminate light trespass onto adjoining residential properties shall be installed if requested by the residential property owner or occupant.

(c) All outdoor light fixtures maintained on public or private property, whether installed before, on or after the effective date of this ordinance, shall be turned off between 11:00 PM (local time) and sunrise except when used for:

(1) Commercial and industrial uses (such as sales, assembly and repair areas) where business is conducted after 11:00 PM, but only while the business is open to the public; (2) Illuminated advertising signs on the premises of a business while it is open to the public; (3) Lighting necessary for security purposes or to illuminate walkways or roadways; (4) Recreational use that continues after 11:00 PM, but only for so long as such use continues.

(d) The outdoor operation of searchlights, lasers or other high- intensity beams is prohibited.

7-7-5 Other Requirements.

(a) Flashing Lights. The use of flashing, rotating or pulsating lights in/on any outdoor sign or other lighting device is prohibited after one (1) year from the effective date of this ordinance. This provision shall not apply to flashing, rotating or pulsating lights intended to warn of hazards and danger.

(b) Light Trespass and Residential spill-over. In addition to the general provisions of this Ordinance, offstreet lighting shall be shielded and/or directed in such a manner that it illuminates only the user’s premises and does not spill over into neighboring residential areas so as to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of residential or public properties.

(c) No lighting fixture or device may be operated in such manner as to constitute a hazard or danger to persons, or to safe vehicular operation.

(d) Signs and BillBoards. Illuminating fixtures for advertising or other signs shall be such that the illumination is confined to the area of the sign or billboard; no significant direct spill-over is permitted. Under no conditions may signs or billboards be illuminated from below. Any such illuminating fixture shall be placed above its respective sign or billboard such that the secondary (specular) reflected light from the surface of the sign or billboard is directed down toward the ground.

(e) Motion Detector Security Lights. Motion detector security lights, which are normally “off” and which are activitated “on” for less than 4 minutes occasionally when motion is detected, are exempt from strict control of emission angles as defined in Section 7-7-3, but are not exempt from Sections 7-7-5 (b) or (c).

(f) Outdoor Recreational Facilities. Outdoor recreational facilities designed for specifically scheduled sporting events are exempt from the specific shielding requirements of Section 7-7-3. In its place, lighting for outdoor recreational facilities shall be so designed, installed and operated as to confine at least 90 percent of the illumination to the recreational area. Recreational facility fixtures shall be on elevated poles or structures so that illumination is directed downward. No significant illumination may extend above a horizontal plane from the lighting fixture. Illumination from recreational facility fixtures shall be shielded to minimize glare extending toward roadways or other places where impairment of motorists’ vision might cause hazard. All such recreational facilities shall have either (a) automatic shut-off timer devices, or (b) a designated official with responsibility for extinguishing the illumination at close of the recreational activity.

(g) In the case of flags, statues or other top-of-pole mounted objects which cannot be illuminated with down-lighting, upward lighting may be used only in the form of one narrow-cone spotlight which confines the illumination to the object of interest.

7-7-6 Nonconforming Fixtures “Grandfather Provision”. Except as provided in Section 7-7-5, all outdoor lighting fixtures existing and legally installed and operative before the effective date of this ordinance are exempt from the requirements of this Ordinance. Whenever a nonconforming fixture is replaced or moved, the replacement thenceforth shall meet the requirements of this ordinance.

7-7-7 Special Exemptions.

(a) Decorator lamps smaller 25 watt rating, or strings of up to 25 such lamps, used for holiday decorations are exempt from the requirements of this Chapter within 15 days of recognized annually occurring holidays.

Decorator lamps smaller than 7.5 watt rating may be used in any desired string length under the same circumstances.

(b) Request for temporary exemption from the provisions of this Ordinance may be submitted to the Village Council in written form describing the reason for the request and the nature of the request. If approved and granted in writing by an authorized representative of the Village Council, such exemption shall be in force for not more than 30 days. Request for a maximum of one 15 day renewal may be made in similar manner.

7-7-8 The installation, sale, offer for sale, lease or purchase of any fixture not in comformance with this Ordinance is prohibited after January 1, 1998.

The installation, sale, offer for sale, lease or purchase of any mercury vapor lamp or lamp fixture for outdoor use is prohibited after January 1, 1998.

7-7-8 Effective Date. The effective date of this ordinance shall be five (5) days after the publication of Notice of Adoption by title and general subject matter in the Alamogordo Daily News.

7-7-9 Penalty. Violations of this ordinance shall be subject to the general penalty provisions contained in Section 1-1-8 of the Cloudcroft Code.

7-7-10 Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are severable, and if any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications.